


Menage a Trois

by Bluewolf458



Category: The Sentinel
Genre: Gen, Sentinel Bingo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-13
Updated: 2018-02-13
Packaged: 2019-03-17 19:41:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13665963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bluewolf458/pseuds/Bluewolf458
Summary: One of the participants in a menage a trois is found dead.





	Menage a Trois

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the 2018 Sentinel Bingo prompt 'love triangle'

Menage a Trois

by Bluewolf

The case had started with Homicide but, as happened too often, the Mayor got involved because the victim was the nephew of one of his main supporters, and within twenty-four hours the case was passed to Major Crime.

"Lord alone knows why the Mayor thinks Major Crime is going to solve this faster than Homicide," Simon muttered when Captain Ainsley took such paperwork as there was to him. "It's an insult to your department, and I at least recognize that."

"I know it's not your fault, Simon," Ainsley told him.

Simon sighed. "And he wants my 'best men' on the job. Ellison already has a full case load with stuff that's come direct to us - he doesn't need another Mayor interference case that your men are more than able to deal with."

"Ah, but by interfering he's keeping one of his financial supporters sweet, making sure of funding for the next election," Ainsley said.

"Yeah," Simon agreed. "But you know what? I certainly won't be voting for him, and I doubt any of my department will. They all know that Jim - and by default, Blair - don't need the extra work dumped on them."

Ainsley chuckled. "I doubt any of my department will, either," he said. "They don't blame your men - hell, Ellison always gives credit to whichever of my men starts the investigation - but they do resent the implication that Homicide is incompetent." He shook his head. "Anyway, I'd better get back, let you get on. We could spend all day moaning about the Mayor and it wouldn't accomplish a thing - "

" - except to get some of our frustration out of our systems," Simon finished.

With a quick wave of acknowledgement, Ainsley left. Simon looked at the thin folder on his desk, and went to his door.

"Ellison," he said.

Jim looked up from the report he was reading, put it down and crossed  to Simon's office.

"Don't tell me - the Mayor has bumped something up to us?"

"Why else would Ainsley be here?" Simon asked. "His men haven't even had the chance to interview anyone yet - they just got a basic statement. This one is pretty well starting from scratch." He gave Jim the folder. "You know the drill... this has to take top priority. Sandburg not in today?"

"He'll be in later. Rainier is his paying job, after all; he has to show up there to give lectures as often as possible. And today he's giving a lecture as repayment to a guy who's stood in for him a few times. A fairly painless repayment - Sandburg spent time with the Kombai five years ago, and his pal knew nothing about them except what's in the books. Apparently Gary said this would repay at least three of the favors Blair owes him."

"Pretty good terms," Simon said.

"That's what Blair thought. He should be in just before lunchtime."

Taking the folder, Jim went back to his desk.

He frowned as he read.

***

Identical twin brothers Alvin and Art Perry did everything together - had done all their lives. In their father's opinion, they were almost unhealthily devoted to each other, but everything he had tried to urge them to make separate lives for themselves - and as they reached their late teens, his attempts to split them intensified - had failed. Both were intelligent, both wanted to go to university; he saw that as a possible opportunity, telling Alvin he could go to Rainier and Art, that he could go to Washington State.

But much though they wanted academic careers, neither was prepared to do that. It was the same university or nothing. At that point they left home and found an apartment together, and jobs in the office of one of Cascade's banks.

They were normal, healthy young men; they often went to one of Cascade's night clubs, sometimes picking up female companionship in the form of two girls who were either sisters or close friends, but always making sure that the girls knew they wanted a foursome, not two pairs. Some girls went along with that, some didn't.

And then one evening they met Maddy Howard. Both were instantly smitten and for the first time in their lives they were forced to consider the unthinkable - that here they had found something they couldn't share.

But Maddy found it fascinating to have identical twins both romancing her, and she agreed to move in with them.

Right from the start the three shared a bed. Their lives seemed to be perfect.

But then one morning Alvin arrived home from a dentist's appointment - that being one of the few things they couldn't get scheduled for the same time - to change into his office clothes, and found Art lying on the bedroom floor, stabbed, and very, very dead.

***

Jim read through the report on the brothers' lives again.

There was no obvious culprit. Maddy had left the house first to go to work - she worked an early shift in a diner that opened at 6am, and said that her partners had still been in bed as usual when she left. Alvin had been at the dentist for 9am, and had left Art getting ready to go to work. Because Alvin hadn't wanted to wear his office clothes to visit the dentist, he had arrived home around 9:45 to change... and found his brother dead.

There was no sign of a break-in.

Jim decided to go and visit Alvin Perry... in the early afternoon, when Blair would be there. An hour or two wasn't going to make much difference.

***

Blair arrived on schedule just before lunchtime.

"How did it go?" Jim asked.

"Very well," Blair said. "I promised Gary that I'd correct anything he gave his students on the subject. It was something he had to cover, but his own interests are solely African. There's a lot been written about other continents, but Irian Jaya was totally unknown territory for him.

"Anyway, what's your timetable for today?"

"An interview that isn't going to be easy... in fact, if you don't mind, I'd like you to do the questioning. You're better with this kind of witness."

"Huh?"

Jim pushed the folder towards him. "Read that."

Inside minutes - Blair was a fast reader - Blair looked up from the folder. "God - poor Alvin."

"See what I mean, though? I don't have the empathy you do to question the guy."

Blair nodded. "But you do have the empathy to realize he'll need to be handled with kid gloves."

"Anyway - lunch?" Jim suggested.

They went to a nearby diner that was popular with the cops, finding several men - and a couple of women - that they knew. Exchanging 'Hello's with them as they crossed the floor, they found an empty table. They didn't need to check the menu sitting on it - they ate there often enough to know what they wanted, Jim ordering roast beef and Blair the unimaginative vegetarian option of macaroni and cheese, which he preferred to their ratatouille.

***

Because the apartment was still a crime scene, Alvin had booked a motel room for himself and Maddy, and given the address to the police. It was probable, Jim knew, that Maddy would be there too, considering how early she started work. Indeed, it was possible that under the circumstances, her boss had allowed her to leave early.

She was. When Alvin opened the door to them, it was clear that the two had been lying on the bed, comforting each other.

"Hello, Mr. Perry," Blair said, his voice gentle. "And Miss Howard? We're sorry to bother you, but the investigation into Art's death has been moved from Homicide to Major Crime and given to us. This is Detective Ellison, and I'm Blair Sandburg, a consultant to the department, partnered with Detective Ellison."

He waited for Alvin to nod his understanding, and went on. "I know you gave a statement to Detective Vyner - we've read that - and I'm really sorry, but we need to ask you - if I'm honest, pretty well the same questions."

Alvin swallowed. "The other detective didn't really ask questions, he just let me tell him what... what I found."

Blair nodded. "I understand, but we do need to ask some questions."

Alvin looked less than happy about it, but he nodded.

"Miss Howard - " Both Jim and Blair noticed the surprise on Alvin's  face. "According to the statement we were given, you left early to go to work?"

"Yes," she whispered. "I work at the 23rd Street diner, and it opens at 6. We - the ones on the first shift - have to be there at 5:30 to get things ready. I have to get up no later than quarter to five to get washed and dressed and over to the diner - I don't have breakfast, we get a break after nine when things quiet down and get something to eat then. I left the apartment at ten past five, got to work just before half past. The boys were still in bed when I left - the alarm wakens them, but although they tell me they do get up quite early, it's certainly not before I leave."

"And you were at work till Alvin phoned to let you know... ?"

"Yes. My boss saw me crying, asked what was wrong, and told me to go home. But I knew to come here - Alvin had already booked the room because... he had been told we'd have to find somewhere else to stay for a few days, but I don't think I want to go back to where Art was killed, anyway."

Blair nodded sympathetically. "I can understand that. And - this is going to sound heartless, but I have to ask - you have witnesses to the fact that you were at work until you were sent home?"

"Yes, but why... ?"

"You're not a suspect, Miss Howard, but having witnesses to your whereabouts during the morning does no harm." He turned to Alvin. "Mr. Perry. Miss Howard has just left for work. What happened next?"

"Art and I... We stayed in bed until about half past six. We showered, but we don't usually get dressed until after breakfast. One way of keeping our office clothes clean and in good condition." He gave a wry smile. "Although we're in the back office and don't usually see the public, our boss expects us to look as if we deal with the public all the time."

Blair nodded.

"We normally start work at 9:30, but this morning I had a dentist's appointment. Years ago we always got appointments for the same day, consecutively; but one time Art was sick and had to cancel and it threw us out of sync. We were never able to get appointments for the same day after that."

Blair nodded. "Even if one of you asked for your next appointment to be delayed and slotted in next your brother's, the way things work with people looking for the most convenient time... "

"Yes. My appointment was for 9 - our boss is quite understanding about time off for things like that, though we do have to make up the time - and I headed off about 8:30, leaving Art still getting dressed. Because of the bank's dress code, I wore casual clothes to go to the dentist, and went home after my appointment to change... and found Art... " His voice broke on a sob.

"Are you quite sure that was what happened?" Jim put in. There was a coldness in his voice that surprised Blair.

"Y...yes."

"I think you're lying," Jim carried on. "I think that you let your brother start to get dressed and then for some reason you stabbed him - and then you put on your casual clothes and went off to the dentist. You returned home knowing you'd find him dead."

"No... no... I found him lying there... " But even Blair could hear the bluster in his voice.

"From all we've heard, the pair of you were devoted to each other... so what went wrong?"

The utter coldness, the total lack of sympathy in Jim's voice - possibly coupled with his feeling of guilt - broke Alvin. "Maddy."

She looked up. "Alvin?"

Blair looked at her sympathetically and raised a hand to hush her.

"We'd always shared everything. Even Maddy... we both loved her and she loved both of us. But I wanted her for myself. I... " He broke down, sobbing uncontrollably.

Maddy stared at him. "You... and so you killed Art? You're despicable! I don't think I ever want to see you again!"

***

Maddy left Cascade and made a new life for herself.

Alvin was medically and psychiatrically examined, declared insane and committed to Conover for life.

As he finished writing up the final report on the case, Blair looked almost helplessly at Jim.

"The things that love - and jealousy - make people do," he said.

Jim nodded. "Perry had everything - a brother who shared everything with him, a girl friend who loved them both... and he threw it all away. I can almost feel sorry for him... but I can't help wondering what Art thought in his final seconds. His sense of betrayal must have been overwhelming."

"At least it would only last a few seconds," Blair said. "Even though he's insane, Alvin has to live for years with the knowledge of what he did."

***

But Alvin didn't. He had lost everything, and knew it. Some two months later, he saw his chance and took it; and killed himself.

When they heard, Jim and Blair looked at each other.

"It was really the only thing left for him to do," Jim said. And Blair could only agree.


End file.
